Massachusetts Retail Sports Betting Is Now Live at Three Casinos

• Massachusetts retail sports betting launched today at 10 a.m.
• Three state casinos are now taking bets
• Online sports betting to launch in early March

After months of discussion and planning, Massachusetts sports betting is now finally live at in-person retail sportsbooks in the Commonwealth.

All went well during Monday’s soft launches for the state’s three licensed casinos and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) unanimously granted certificates of operation for their sportsbooks.

The commissioners inspected each sportsbook and received demonstrations of their betting technologies Monday morning.

Massachusetts In-Person Sports Betting Live

Sportsbooks at Plainridge Park Casino, Encore Boston Harbor, and MGM Springfield are all open and accepting bets as of 10 a.m.

MGM Springfield hosted Boston Bruins legend Ray Bourque, City of Springfied Mayor Domenic Sarno, Sen. Adam Gomez, and Rep. Carlos Gonzalez during its sportsbook launch this morning.

Encore Boston Harbor invited 32 guests  to place the historic first bets at the WynnBET Kiosk room at launch, while Boston championship-winning athletes will simultaneously place the first bets at the WynnBET Sportsbook at 10:30 a.m.

Plainridge Park Casino did not announce any festivities for its sportsbook.

Retail Sports Betting Live Ahead of Super Bowl LVII

The MGC approved a full catalogue of sports bets, sports markets, and events for the retail sports betting launch.

Massachusetts sports bettors will be able to wager on all the major leagues and sports, such as the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, and MLS.

Each of the approved sports and leagues were specifically requested by the licensed operators in the commonwealth.

Here is the full list of approved events:

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In addition, bets on award shows, such as the upcoming Academy Awards in March, and bets on league drafts are allowed as well.

Competitive eating events, such as the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, were also approved.

Prohibited Events for Massachusetts Retail Sports Betting

The MGC did carve out several events from the approved retail sports betting catalogue. They are as follows:

• Winter Olympics
• Summer Olympics
• Chess
• Jai Alai
• Cornhole
• eSports

All of these prohibited events will likely be revisited and potentially restored in February meetings. The commissioners struggled with allowing the Winter and Summer Olympics in the approved catalogue, as so many of the events in the games are decided by subjective judges.